Government Shutdown Delays Ohio Jobs Data Report

The monthly Ohio unemployment report scheduled for Friday will be delayed because of the federal government shutdown. That means residents and employers will have to wait to find out whether the slight uptick in the state jobless rate for August continued last month.

The Columbus Dispatch says the state compiles the report using data from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau. The shutdown is affecting both agencies.

A spokesman for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services says it's not clear when the state report might be released. He says for now, the status is "wait and see."

Economists say the delay creates uncertainty for businesses that depend on the updated data.

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So far, no Head Start programs in Ohio have been affected by the federal government shutdown. But Barbara Haxton with the Ohio Head Start Association says if there’s no resolution, 11 Head Start facilities across the state will shut down, stranding 2-thousand kids and over a thousand staffers.

"So if those agencies close, families will be lookng for additional care for their children during the day, staff will be laid off - hopefully collecting unemployment for the duration - and programs will be shut down. It's really a bad scene.”

As the federal government shutdown drags into its third week, it has become a sort of background noise, present but not always noticeable. Unless you’re a federal worker, that is; Justine Kelly’s a case in point.

She works at the Social Security Administration, and has been working without pay for weeks.

“This is just so demoralizing,” she said at a Democratic party event in Dayton Monday. “I feel like nobody cares. I feel nobody’s listening, like this is all a game.”